COMMUNIQUÉ

COMMUNIQUE OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its twenty-fifth meeting, held on 25 February 2005, adopted the following decision on the situation in Togo.

Council,

1. Reiterates AU’s strong condemnation of the military coup d’état which took place in Togo and the constitutional modifications intended to legally window dress the coup d’état, as well as its rejection of any election that would be organized under the conditions enunciated by the de facto authorities in Togo;

2. Demands the return to constitutional legality, which entails the resignation of Mr. Faure Gnassingbé and the respect of the provisions of the Togolese Constitution regarding the succession of power;

3. Confirms the suspension of de facto authorities in Togo and their representatives from participation in the activities of all the organs of the African Union until such a time when constitutional legality is restored in the country and requests the Commission to ensure the scrupulous implementation of this measure;

4. Endorses the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the de facto authorities in Togo and requests all Member States to scrupulously implement these sanctions;

5. Mandates ECOWAS, in close coordination with the current Chairman of the AU and the Chairperson of the Commission, to take all such measures as it deems necessary to restore constitutional legality in Togo within the shortest time;

6. Requests the Chairperson of the Commission to formally contact the United Nations Secretary General and Security Council, the European Union (EU), the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) and the other AU partners to lend their unflinching support to the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS and the initiatives of African leaders aimed at resolving the crisis resulting from the coup d’état that took place in Togo;

7. Encourages the AU Commission and the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat to agree on a mechanism for monitoring strict compliance with the sanctions against de facto authorities in Togo and to determine the political measures that need to be taken to backstop the stabilization and reconciliation process in Togo once constitutional legality is re-established, including more specifically the holding of free, fair and all inclusive elections. In this respect, Council stresses the primacy of the rule of law and the need for the political leaders of Togo to agree on a consensual management of the transitional period;

8. Decides to remain seized of the situation and to re-examine it in light of new developments and the decisions that may be taken by the de facto authorities in Togo.